Chaim Topol made the role of patriarch Tevye famous. While enlisted in the Israeli army, he was nominated for an Oscar for the 1972 film version of the play. Topol has played the role more than 2,500 times all over the world. This is his farewell tour.
Though set more than one hundred years ago in Tsarist Russia, “Fiddler on the Roof” is still something audiences can relate to — daughters haven’t stopped defying their fathers yet.
“The story is universal,” says Susan Cella, who plays main character Tevye’s wife Golde in the musical. “It happens to take place in a Jewish shtetl [“little town”], but it’s applicable to any kind of people in any time period.”
The synopsis and soundtrack are familiar to most, as is the show’s leading man, Chaim Topol. Topol plays Tevye, a poor milkman and father of five daughters who desperately tries to uphold tradition within the family.
“He certainly knows the show better than anyone living today,” says Cella of Topol.
Cella, who was born and raised in Revere, says the show is so accessible that local audiences “will be brought to tears.”
“I guarantee it,” she says.
‘Fiddler on the Roof’
Through Nov. 15
Boston Opera House
539 Washington St., Boston
MBTA: Green Line to Boylston
$28-$89, 617-259-3400
www.bostonoperahouse.com